The school was named to Missouri's list of most endangered historic places in June. City inspectors considered the building dangerous and began condemnation proceedings in July.

Historic preservationists said the demolition will erase an important link to the city's history.

The building housed the last school for black students in Cape Girardeau before the U.S. Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954, ruling that state laws permitting segregated schools were unconstitutional.